The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes #9

by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Mazarin Stone The Problem of Thor Bridge The Creeping Man The Sussex Vampire The Three Garridebs The Illustrious Client The Blanched Soldier The Retired Colourman The Three Gables The Lion's Mane The Veiled Lodger Shoscombe Old Place

Genres: Classics, Mystery, Fiction, Short Stories, Crime, Detective, Audiobook

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 16, 1927

About the author

Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle was a Scottish writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Holmes and Dr. Watson. The Sherlock Holmes stories are milestones in the field of crime fiction.

Doyle was a prolific writer. In addition to the Holmes stories, his works include fantasy and science fiction stories about Professor Challenger, and humorous stories about the Napoleonic soldier Brigadier Gerard, as well as plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction, and historical novels. One of Doyle's early short stories, "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884), helped to popularise the mystery of the brigantine Mary Celeste, found drifting at sea with no crew member aboard.

Reviews

[Federico DN · Rating 3 out of 5]

His Last Bow Book.

IMPORTANT: : For a sort of HEA ending for the series I strongly recommend saving 8. His Last Bow for last, right after 9. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes

Last collection of the immortal Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Quite a letdown really, being half good half meh. The only thing I wanted was at least a nice farewell to this ennealogy, and that didn’t happen; if anything this felt like the watching the last episode of a series that was unexpectedly cancelled. I’m positive this series would have ended so much better for me if I had read 8. His Last Bow last; so in my mind, I’m going to pretend that was what happened. It also must be noted that most of these collection books are assembled non-sequentially, so chronologically speaking, in the correct order “His Last Bow” IS in fact the last Sherlock Holmes story, so please bear that in mind when reading them.

Go for the Best, consider the Good, whatever the Meh.

The Best :
★★★★★ "The Illustrious Client."
★★★★☆ "The Blanched Soldier."
★★★★☆ "The Retired Colourman." [3.5]

The Good :
★★★☆☆ "The Mazarin Stone." [3.5]
★★★☆☆ "Shoscombe Old Place."
★★★☆☆ "The Veiled Lodger."

The Meh :
★★☆☆☆ "The Problem of Thor Bridge." [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ "The Sussex Vampire." [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ "The Three Garridebs."
★★☆☆☆ "The Lion’s Mane."
★☆☆☆☆ "The Three Gables." [1.5]
★☆☆☆☆ "The Creeping Man."

It’s public domain, you can find it HERE.

Still missing, the BBC series.



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PERSONAL NOTE :
[1927] [303p] [Collection] [2.5] [Not Recommendable]
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★★★★☆ 1. A Study in Scarlet [3.5]
★★★☆☆ 2. The Sign of Four [2.5]
★★★☆☆ 3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
★★★★☆ 4. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes [3.5]
★★★★☆ 5. The Hound of the Baskervilles
★★★★☆ 6. The Return of Sherlock Holmes
★★★☆☆ 7. The Valley of Fear
★★★★☆ 8. His Last Bow [3.5]
★★★☆☆ 9. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes [2.5]
★★★☆☆ 10. The Complete Sherlock Holmes

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El Ultimo Saludo Libro

IMPORTANTE: : Para tener una especial de final feliz en la serie recomiendo fuertemente dejar 8. Su Ultimo Saludo para el final, después de leer 9. El Archivo de Sherlock Holmes

Ultima colección del inmortal Sherlock Holmes por Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Una gran decepción la verdad, siendo mitad buena mitad meh. Lo único que quería era al menos una linda despedida para esta nonalogía, y eso no pasó; debo decir que esto se sintió como ver el último episodio de una serie que fue cancelada inesperadamente. Estoy completamente convencido que esta serie habría acabado mucho mejor para mí si hubiera leído 8. Su Ultimo Saludo al final; así que en mi mente, voy a imaginar que eso es lo que sucedió. Debe notarse además que la mayor parte de estos libros de colecciones son armados no secuencialmente, así que cronológicamente hablando, en el orden correcto “Su Ultimo Saludo” ES en efecto la última historia de Sherlock Holmes, así que por favor tener eso en cuenta al leerlos.

Ir por lo Mejor, considerar lo Bueno, loquesea lo Meh.

Lo Mejor :
★★★★★ "La Aventura del Cliente Ilustre."
★★★★☆ "La Aventura del Soldado de la Piel Descolorida."
★★★★☆ "La Aventura del Fabricante de Colores Retirado." [3.5]

Lo Bueno :
★★★☆☆ "La Aventura de la Piedra de Mazarino." [3.5]
★★★☆☆ "La Aventura de Shoscombe Old Place."
★★★☆☆ "La Aventura de la Inquilina del Velo."

Lo Meh :
★★☆☆☆ "El Problema del Puente de Thor." [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ "La Aventura del Vampiro de Sussex." [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ "La Aventura de los Tres Garrideb."
★★☆☆☆ "La Aventura de la Melena de León."
★☆☆☆☆ "La Aventura de los Tres Frontones." [1.5]
★☆☆☆☆ "La Aventura del Hombre que se Arrastraba."

Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.

Queda pendiente, la serie de BBC.



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NOTA PERSONAL :
[1927] [303p] [Colección] [2.5] [No Recomendable]
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[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B+) 76% | Good
Notes: A volume divided into two tiers of quality. Heavily reliant on gimmickry and clear retreads of earlier Holmes stories.

[Steven Medina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gracias Arthur Conan Doyle por crear al mejor detective del mundo: Tú legado siempre se recordará.

Después de leer nueve volúmenes de mi personaje favorito no puedo negar que siento mucha nostalgia de llegar al final: Soy muy sentimental con las despedidas, no lo puedo evitar.
Leer a Sherlock Holmes ha sido una experiencia muy bonita llena de entretenimiento, casos extraños y conversaciones pícaras. Su excentricidad siempre me atrapó, me hipnotizó, y me ha convertido en un fiel fanático de sus habilidades como detective, al igual que le ocurrió al entrañable Watson, su fiel compañero.

Este volumen me ha encantado porque los relatos presentados no se parecen entre sí. Todos han sido una verdadera sorpresa y una gran compañía para entretenerme. De momento no quiero revelar mucho de mis sensaciones, pero, si mencionaré, que todos los relatos me han gustado bastante y que no hay uno solo que tenga calificación menor a tres estrellas.

Extrañaré mucho a Sherlock Holmes, no lo olvidaré jamás. Su personalidad ha quedado eternamente grabada en mi corazón y mi mente.

Reseña completa más adelante.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some enjoyable stories, more thoughts to come !

And a month later here are those thoughts, now what was it about ?

This read , my first according to GR, but in reality many times that, was for a Buddy read I ran of all the Sir ACD short stories and Novels of the great Sherlock Holmes in the English Mysteries Club group .

This was the penultimate book we read as I took the liberty of slightly changing the reading order to ensure we were all on Dartmoor for Christmas and New Year hunting or hiding from a terrifying dog in The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Anyway this book for the English market contained 12 short stories. I think (maybe with the exception of the novel above) Sir ACD is better known and more highly praised for his Holmes short stories than the novels and these are no exception, some of them excellent whilst some are just good.
I suppose the biggest difference with this collection is that not all are narrated by Dr Watson, quite are few are Holmes himself relating the story. Which gives a different complexion to the story telling. I like the fact that at one point Holmes has to grudgingly admit that Watson's telling of his stories are maybe more exciting.

All in all an enjoyable collection and a great lead up to a literary visit with Watson to Dartmoor.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final Sherlock Holmes book, and while it is enjoyable, I think "Casebook" is the weakest collection of Sherlock stories. Having gone through all nine books this summer, it really seems like Doyle was so tired of the character that he was phoning it in by the 1920s.

But I did have some favorites in the bunch: "The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone," in which Holmes uses that wacky new gizmo called a phonograph to fool some criminals; "The Problem of Thor Bridge" has an ingenious method of framing someone for murder using a rock, a handgun and some string; and "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs," because Sherlock shows genuine feeling for Dr. Watson when he gets shot in the leg while on a case. "It was worth a wound, it was worth many wounds, to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask."

Despite the unevenness of this story collection, it was bittersweet for me. I'm sad that my summer of Sherlock is now over. I've spent the past two and a half months listening to the marvelous actor Derek Jacobi narrate all nine books of Holmes, and he really made the great detective come alive. If any of you Goodreaders want to delve into the Sherlock canon, I recommend letting Jacobi be your guide.

[Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a writer I count among my favorites, and I've been a Sherlock Holmes fan since my boyhood. However, although I've read all four of Doyle's Holmes novels, there are still a number of the short stories in the canon that I haven't read; and except for The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, this is the only one of the author's own collections I've read. This volume collects the last dozen stories Doyle wrote about Holmes (his preface states his intention not to write any more of them), all set before "His Last Bow," which takes place at the outset of World War I, though they were written after it. (Some of the story settings are given exact chronological dates, and some aren't.) Stylistically, they're very much of a piece with any of the earlier ones that I've read. Holmes solves cases by the rigorous observation of details and the application of deductive logic, in a coldly intellectual fashion that the Neoclassical writers would have approved; but Doyle's essentially Romantic approach shows in the appeal of the tales to the emotions, and the frequent use of outre and exotic motifs and sometimes Gothic atmosphere. Most of the stories here, unlike the majority of modern mysteries, don't involve murder (and some don't actually involve criminal behavior at all). Usually Holmes' faithful sidekick Dr. Watson narrates the tales, but one story here is told in third person, and the great detective himself narrates two of them.

Most of the stories were new to me in written form, though I'd previously read "The Adventure of the Creeping Man," which appears in the excellent Southern Illinois Univ. Press collection The Best Science Fiction of Arthur Conan Doyle; the Holmes stories avoid use of actual supernatural elements (though Doyle wrote supernatural fiction with other characters), but this is a good example of the few that use science fictional elements. (I also realized, while reading the book, that I'd previously read "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client" and "The Problem of Thor Bridge," because I recognized remembered passages of dialogue in both of them; but those reads were long ago and I'd forgotten almost all of the plots.) In a few cases, I'd also seen an adaptation of a story years ago on the outstanding PBS series Mystery!, whose wonderful Holmes episodes feature Jeremy Brett, whom I consider THE definitive cinematic Holmes. But the adaptations were different enough from the written stories (and I'd forgotten enough of most of them!) to not be spoilerish.

One of these adaptations was the main source of my interest in this particular collection. The two-part episode The Last Vampire (which is actually feature-film length, and which I taped on VHS and re-watch occasionally) was based on one of the stories here, "The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire," and I've wanted to read the latter ever since seeing the TV version. The two, however, are actually significantly different. A literal adaptation of the story wouldn't have run for more than an hour (half an hour might have done it). Both story and film are set mostly in rural Sussex, though the latter develops the setting more; the dynamics of the Ferguson household in the film are (mostly) also in the story, and a couple of plot elements are the same, but used differently. But two of the best-drawn characters in the film, Stockton and the vicar, as well as the villagers, are absent from the story, as is the background about the St. Clair family and their ruined mansion, and the whole theme of psychic vampirism is lacking as well. Also, the film version is darker, more suspenseful, and more emotionally impactful. I won't say the story was a disappointment; it's a good yarn for what it is. (But it's nowhere near as ripping good as the TV "adaptation!" Viewed strictly as a adaptation, I'd have to give the latter a D-; but taking it on its own terms just as a piece of cinema in its own right, I'd give it an A+, five stars, and two thumbs up.)

In some cases here, Holmes doesn't have to do much deduction; and in other stories, I was able to figure out the basic nature of the solution to the mystery pretty quickly. (That didn't preclude enjoying the stories, however.) Doyle's leading female characters are often morally courageous, emotionally strong women of admirable character, although we also have one nasty villainess here (and it isn't Kitty Winter, despite her "fallen" status!). "The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger" is perhaps the most emotionally evocative of the twelve stories here, and "the Adventure of the Lion's Mane" perhaps the most imaginative. A couple of caveats are in order about ethnic stereotyping. One of the minor villains in "The Adventure of the Three Gables" is black (and a police inspector refers to him by the infamous "n-word," though Holmes and Watson don't), and in "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" it's mentioned more than once that a number of Sir Robert's creditors are Jews, though the principal one is a Gentile. But Doyles's criminals are generally white; there's no suggestion here that blacks are commonly criminals, or that Steve is a criminal because he's black. (Blacks have the same range of moral possibilities as any other ethnic group; for writers to always feel self-consciously obliged to portray them as saintly doesn't really represent an embrace of the idea of racial equality, in the actual meaning of the term.) And although the legal and ecclesiastical rules against Christians charging interest on loans (which had meant that in the medieval and early modern eras, only Jews engaged in commercial money-lending) had been done away with by Holmes' time, the traditional pattern in the financial industry still persisted to a degree --most Jews weren't money-lenders, and a number of money-lenders were Gentiles, but a disproportionate number of them were still Jewish. (Doyle doesn't suggest that the trade is in any way dishonorable, or that those who follow it, Jewish or Gentile, are at all out of line in expecting to be repaid money that they loaned in good faith!)

All in all, I think this collection would appeal to any Holmes fan. Mystery fans in general, provided they don't avoid short stories as such, should also enjoy these; the diction isn't particularly challenging, nor archaic. IMO, though, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes or one of the first two novels, A Study in Scarlet or The Sign of Four, might be a better first introduction to the character of Holmes, if you've never actually read any of the canon. But that may be just me, and reflecting the fact that those were the first Holmes books that I read!

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

My final Sherlock Holmes! A joy to read, like the rest of the short stories - I can't believe I've actually finally read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

My edition of this book has a nice Preface by the author himself, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He explained that he had written enough about Holmes and Watson so he said goodbye to them. However, he hoped that his readers will remember those characters for a long time. There were some readers who advised him not to end the series as it had formed part of their boyhood. Well, I was already in my middle age when I finally read this but still I appreciated it and for 10 months became part of my daily reading routine. I normally read this as a back up (if the first book proved to be boring) book in the morning early morning, during weekends and especially while resting at the gym lounge. You see, there are some books that I would not dare bring at the gym because some of the members are snoopy and form some kind of expression on their faces if they see me reading books that they think make my sexual preference the same as theirs.

Yes, when I closed this book after my workout today, I also said goodbye to Sherlock Holmes as but I definitely enjoyed reading the whole canon.

This book, his last collection of 12 (out of 56) short stories has works that deviated from the usual Watson as the narrator. Rather there is one “Mazarin Stone” narrated by an unnamed third person then there are two, “Blanched Soldier” and “Lion’s Mane” with Holmes as narrator himself. Also, that “Lion’s Mane” is already set after Holmes’ retirement. This gave me the inkling that Sir Doyle also thought twice before deciding to end this canon.

The Adventure of the Illustrious Client. Violet is the daughter of General De Merville and she is in love with a murderer, Austian Baron Adelbert Gruner. The murderer’s last victim is his wife but he does not get punished because the witness gets sick and dies during the trial. Holmes first sees the baron himself but the meeting does not help Holmes in anyway. It takes the other past mistress for him to get clues on what really happened to the victims. Quite interesting. I thought that the baron was some kind of a vampire killer and then it turned out that he was just ugly and turned uglier at the end of the story. The story is entertaining but when the real baron is revealed towards the end, I said: “huh? okay” and proceeded right away to the next story. This is the reason why it took me a while to finish this collection. - 2 STARS

The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier. Godfrey Emsworth is missing and his friend James Dodd is looking for him. They both served as armies during the Second Boer War in South Africa. It has been six months since the war ended and since they were friends during the war, Dodd tries to contact him and since Emsworth has not responded, Dodd writes to his father. The father says that his son is on travel around the world but Dodd does not believe him. He thinks that Emsworth is missing so he consults Holmes for help. This is one of the two short stories that are narrated by Sherlock Holmes instead of his partner, Dr. Watson. The reason is that “Watson deserted me for a wife.” The wife being referred here is Watson’s second wife since this was published after Watson and his first wife have separated. The story ends happily and hopeful as regards to the real condition (why is he called “blanched”) of Emsworth. Quite different from the other stories. I also liked the friendship between the two men. - 4 STARS

The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone. Count Negretto Sylvius still an important jewel called the Mazarin Stone. Together with his henchman, Sam Merton, Count Sylvius comes to 221B Baker St. to confront Holmes and ask why the latter’s henchmen are following him. After explaining that the henchmen are all him in disguise, Holmes pulls a series of tricks to make the count admit that he is indeed the thief. This is one of the two Sherlock Holmes stories (the other is His Last Bow that are written in third person. Also, what is noteworthy here is the fact that there is only one setting: Holmes’ room in 221B Baker St. Based on Wiki, the reason is that that this short story is originally written for a theatre play. – 3 STARS

The Adventure of the Three Gables. Steve Dixie, a black dimwitted man, tells Holmes to stay away from Harrow (a area in London). To know the reason for the threat, Holmes floated that he knows Dixie’s participation on the Perkin’s case (death). Dixie’s boss is Barney Stockdale and Holmes suspects that he is connected with Harrow Weald case as is tipped off by Mary Maberley, the lady who lives at Three Gables.This is the best story in this collection. It reminded me of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables especially because of the characters. Was it possible that this story was inspired by that classic novel by Hawthorne? - 4 STARS

The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire. Mr. Ferguson suspects that his wife is a vampire because their son’s nurse has caught her sucking the blood of their son. Mr. Ferguson tells the nurse to keep quiet by bribing her. The baby is the 2nd son of Mr. Ferguson. The first one is the 15-y/o Jack whose mother is not Mrs. Ferguson. The family lives at their Essex Estate. The starting scene is very engaging. I thought that this was comparable to the gothic ingredient of The Hound of the Baskervilles. - 3 STARS

The Adventure of the Three Garridebs. Nathan and John Garridebs are looking man whose surname is unusual: Garrideb. Holmes finds out that there is an American Garrideb who asks John Garrideb to look for another man who has the same surname and he will give John $15 million dollars. So far, John has found only Nathan who consults Holmes and so the American Garrideb is not pleased. I liked how the deductions were done by Holmes in the story. The basic premise is not very interesting because the Garrideb does not longer look like an out of this world surname. However, it might be the case when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote this in June 1902. - 3 STARS

The Problem of Thor Bridge. Maria Gibson is killed near Thor Bridge apparently by her children’s governess, Grace Dunbar. Maria’s husband goes to Sherlock Holmes to clear Dunbar. Despite the obvious evidences, Holmes proceeds to the investigation and by the power of deduction, finds out what are really happened. Simple yet elegantly told. At first, it seems like a simple straightforward story yet when Holmes’ deductive skills come into play, the unearthing of the real story is just impressive. – 3 STARS

The Adventure of the Creeping Man. Professor Presbury is acting strange and his personal secretary, Mr. Bennett seeks the help of Holmes and Watson. Mr. Bennett informs the duo that the professor has just come from Prague and that he does not want a box to be opened and the letters with cross beneath the stamps to go straight to his master. Prague should be an exotic place around that time that this was written. Maybe like Transylvannia where Dracula used to reside. No extraordinary flavor in this story except that Sir Doyle seemed to be thinking of going sci-fi. Do old man who are about to re-marry, this time with a much younger woman, have to resort to those things? - 2 STARS

The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane. Harold Stackhurst is a headmaster of The Gables, a preparatory school. Holmes is enjoying a weekend with him because they are friends when another teacher in the same school, Fitzroy McPherson arrives with blood and says something about “lion’s mane” before collapsing then dies. The third teacher, Ian Murdoch, comes after but says that he has no knowledge about the murder. Holmes thinks that Murdoch is the killer because he used to court Maud Bellamy, McPherson’s fiancée until the lion’s mare comes out. Very educational at least for me. I grew up in an island but I never knew about this lion’s mane could be deadly. Maybe this is found only in that part of the world and not in the Pacific? I like it when I learned something from Holmes. - 4 STARS

The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger. Mrs. Merrilow has a lodger who is mysterious because she has not shown her face. Once, Mrs. Merrilow sees it by accident and it was disfigured. Another lodger complains and so Holmes and Watson do their investigation and find the history of the disfigurement. It is that time when the lodger is working on a carnival and gets herself a boyfriend. This one is quite different. It is more dramatic than the usual illustration of Holmes’ power of deduction. This one has heart and Holmes is more of like a shrink rather than a detective. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. - 3 STARS

The Adventure of the Shoscombe Old Place. John Mason is a trainer at a racing stable called Shoscombe Old Place. He consults Holmes because he thinks that his master, Sir Robert Norberton is going mad. The owner of the racing stable is the sister of Sir Robert but Sir Robert is betting on the horse called Shoscombe Prince because if the horse wins, he will be out of debt. When the sister-owner dies, Sir Robert has to hide the body while waiting for the derby where Shoscombe Price competes. This was the last work included in this Sherlock Holmes canon. Yey! It’s a nice story and ends happily. There is nothing remarkable but it felt nice to finally read all the works. So, maybe that’s the reason why I liked this. I said “finally! At last!” and closed the book. - 3 STARS

The Adventure of the Retired Colourman. A wife of a man leaves with her lover. The man is Josiah Amberley and the lover is Dr. Ray Ernest. The husband is the one who comes to Holmes to help track down the lovers. It turns out that the lovers have not eloped as the husband is telling Holmes. Very nice story and I thought that the reason why the British edition put this as the last story is that this is better than the real last which was the Shosombe. This has all the usual elements of a Sherlock Holmes story: deduction, Watson being part of the plot, Baker has an appearance here, the drama of mature adult relationship, etc. - 5 STARS

Thank you, gentlemen (Doyle, Holmes and Watson). I really had a nice time knowing you. We were together for 10 months and I will surely miss all of you. *salutes*

Now, my problem is what book to bring to the gym.

[Piyangie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve short Sherlock Holmes adventures. This is the final collection of Sherlock Holmes adventures written by Arthur Conan Doyle. Comparatively, this collection fell slightly short of previous short-story collections of Sherlock Holmes. Except for a few, most of the stories were ordinary. Holmes's brilliance has been deliberately subdued by treating him like a man with a superhuman mind beyond any human power of deduction. In the few stories that shone above others, Holmes was presented in his natural genius as we know him.

The twelve stories of this collection are:
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client - 3.5 stars
The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier - 3 stars
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone - 2.5 stars
The Adventure of the Three Gables - 2 stars
The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire - 3 stars
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs - 4 stars
The Problem of the Thor Bridge - 4 stars
The Adventure of the Creeping Man - 2 stars
The Adventure of the Lion's Mane - 3.5 stars
The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger - 2 stars
The Adventure of the Shoscombe Old Place - 3 stars
The Adventure of the Retired Colourman - 5 stars

The unique and interesting feature of this collection was that the great detective himself narrated some of the stories. The stylistic difference between the narratives of Holmes and Dr. Watson was quite interesting. It's true that this collection didn’t stand up to the previous ones. However, no matter what flaws you may find in comparison, it is hard not to enjoy Sherlock Holmes adventures.

More of my reviews can be found at http://piyangiejay.com/

[Aishu Rehman · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes’, like all the other collections, is a must read for every mystery fan. As always, some stories are better than others, but all are pure Sherlock at his best. While not the most famous of Sherlock’s cases, Shoscombe Old Place and The Illustrious Client are excellent examples of the Sherlock canon, while The Blanched Soldier and The Lion’s Mane, both narrated by Holmes, are unique variations on a tried and true format. Yet, perhaps the best story in the entire canon, is The Problem of Thor Bridge, a classic locked room tale!

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final installment in the original Sherlock Holmes series includes the following short stories:

The Adventure of the Illustrious Client - 4/5 - Holmes tries to get a woman away from the clutches of a bad dude.
The Adventure of the Blanched Solider - 4/5 - Holmes narrates as Watson takes some time off.
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone - 4/5 - The story of a missing gem is told in the third person and not narrated by Watson
The Adventure of the Three Gables - 3/5 - similar to a couple other Holmes stories
The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire - 3/5 - stretched credibility but not in the way one might think
The Adventure of the Three Garridebs - 4/5 - similar to The Red Headed League but still quite fun
The Problem with Thor Bridge - 3/5 - not bad but the ending stretched the bounds of believability somewhat
Sherlock Holmes: Adventure of the Creeping Man - 3/5 - the science is far-fetched but the story is unique
The Adventure of the Lion's Mane - 3/5 - Holmes again narrates, story is unique but again far-fetched
The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger - 3/5 - a woman explains away an incident that happened several years ago
The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place - 3/5 - Holmes investigates some strange happenings
The Adventure of the Retired Colourman - 3/5 - a little different from the usual Holmes story

[Tristram Shandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enough Is Enough!

At least, this is what Arthur Conan Doyle himself must have felt when he published The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, a collection of twelve stories that were written between 1921 and 1927 mostly for the Strand Magazine and Liberty. In the preface to this collection, we find the author express his firm resolution to have done with Holmes and to finally let him go the way of all flesh in order to dedicate his time and power to other literary projects. He even seems to regret having once given in to the public’s desire for more of the mastermind’s adventures and having allowed his resurrection after his deadly struggle with Professor Moriarty at the Reichenbach Falls and he stresses that another revival of his long-lived creation will be out of the question.

Here is a quick overview of the twelve individual stories – spoiler-free:

The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone: This is a rather unusual adventure in that we do not see so much of Holmes’s skills of reasoning and deduction but are treated to a rather stale coup de théâtre at the end. Holmes basically has an entire case against the dangerous criminal Count Negretto Sylvius, who has stolen a famous jewel, the eponymous Mazarin Stone, with the help of a rather simple-minded accomplice, but he does not know where the jewel is hidden. In order to find this out, he meets the count face to face and sets him a psychological trap. – Since Watson does not play a major role in this adventure, we have here one of two tales that are written in the perspective of the omniscient narrator, and while the story itself is not really very mysterious, it has at least a suspenseful encounter between master criminal and master sleuth on offer and shows Holmes at his best in terms of wry humour, as when he says, shortly after divulging to Watson that he expects to be murdered, ”’[…] But we may be comfortable in the meantime, may we not? Is alcohol permitted? […]’” Holmes also excels as a master of disguise in this story, and the red herring he uses will be familiar to the avid reader from the 1903 Adventure of the Empty House.

The Problem of Thor Bridge: This is a murder case that seems to be very clear against the governess Miss Dunbar, whose mistress is found shot on a bridge, with a note in her clenched hand showing that she had an appointment in that very place with Miss Dunbar. The police also find a pistol in the governess’s wardrobe – but her employer entreats Holmes to prove the young woman’s innocence. Holmes is disgusted with his client’s morals but he still agrees to help because he believes in Miss Dunbar’s innocence, and he soon unravels an extremely sophisticated murder riddle. – Not only is the story extremely clever, but in its introduction we also learn something we might never have surmised, namely that Holmes, for all his astuteness, also has to look back on a number of cases he actually failed to solve – cases which are so mysterious that they border on the supernatural. Especially one of them did whet my curiosity, the one of ”Isadora Persano, the well-known journalist and duellist, who was found stark staring mad with a match box in front of him which contained a remarkable worm said to be unknown to science.” Boy, Mr. Doyle certainly had a deft hand at throwing his readers hints to stories he had never written and at making them ardently wish he had! This odd reference may also serve to remind you that Doyle was the author of several gripping tales of the supernatural.

In The Adventure of the Creeping Man Holmes and Watson are called for help by the private secretary (and future son-in-law) of Professor Presbury because that eminent and learned man, always a bit on the irascible side, has started to behave very strangely of late. To give an example, he was surprised creeping on all fours by his secretary – yes, you are reading right! Is he under the influence of some strange drug? And if so, why did his own dog repeatedly attack him? – If pressed upon to select the worst Sherlock Holmes story ever, I’d lay my finger on this selfsame tale for the same reason as Watson, who, at one point of this half-baked and simply ludicrous yarn, cries out, ”’Surely, Holmes, this is a little far-fetched’”.

The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire may sound like another story in which the author goes beyond the limits of likelihood in a sensationalist desire to impress his readers, but it is actually a decent little family mystery, which starts when an old acquaintance of Watson’s asks the detective’s help after finding that his Peruvian wife has repeatedly attacked her stepson and been caught in the act of sucking blood from her own baby’s neck. Its introduction gives yet another example of how Doyle teased his readers’ imagination by casually mentioning cases that have yet to be recorded as when Holmes talks of the Matilda Briggs, ”’a ship which is associated with the giant rat of Sumatra, a story for which the world is not yet prepared.’” I can’t speak for the world, but as to myself, I’d say, Here I am, and fully prepared!

The Adventure of the Three Garridebs is yet another clever and entertaining story although it has to be confessed that, strictly speaking, Doyle rehashes the plot of one of his earliest Holmes cases, albeit to some good effect. Holmes is supposed to track down a third bearer of the unusual name of Garrideb so that a will promising 5 million dollars to each of the three Garridebs can be properly executed. Too good to be true?

In The Illustrous Client Holmes pits his strength against yet another arch-villain of the Moriarty style, and this time it is an Austrian nobleman, the Baron Adelbert Gruber, who has dedicated his life to crime without sullying his own hands too notably. Holmes’s task is to provide material that will prevent a young infatuated lady from giving her hand in marriage to the Baron, who has already killed his first wife. What follows is a dramatic tug-of-war between the detective and the scoundrel, but experienced readers of the canon might feel that Charles Augustus Milverton is looking on from around the corner.

The greatest mystery lying in wait for the reader of The Adventure of the Three Gables is probably the question why the story came to be named The Adventure of the Three Gables. The house in which Holmes’s client lives does happen to have three gables, but none of these gables plays any role in the story, and all we get is a burglary tale with a rash and dissatisfying ending. Easily one of the lamest stories in the entire canon.

A similar thing can be said about The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier, where Holmes has to find out the real reason why a young man and former soldier should be hidden from the world by his family and all the world be told that the young man is travelling through Europe. Holmes has little to go by and from that little he draws the most remarkable and far-reaching conclusions. What makes the story really disappointing is the absence of Dr. Watson, a melancholy fact that deprives the story of what makes Holmes tales so enjoyable, namely the interaction between those two friends. To make matters even worse, Holmes, who takes on the role of narrator here, starts with a rather disparaging and, one hopes, out-of-character remark about his loyal companion: ”The ideas of my friend Watson, though limited, are exceedingly pertinacious.” This thankless arrogance made a very bad starting-point into the tale for me.

The next story is set in 1907 and it is also told by Holmes himself, who has now withdrawn from active life and taken up beekeeping on the Sussex seaside. When I first read The Lion’s Mane, the surprise ending made me rank it among my favourite Holmes stories, but my recent re-reading showed that the absence of Watson is sorely felt: One has the impression that the visit to the family of the dead man’s love interest just serves the purpose of filler and that the tale is eked out to postpone the solution for as long as the author deems it necessary to make a tale out of a good idea, which is, however, poorly executed.

The Adventure of the Retired Colourman has the making of a good tale in it – Holmes is asked to look into the elopement of a retired colourman’s wife with her neighbour and part of her husband’s savings –, but there is one major point in this story, not to be given away here, which just does not sit straight with me.

The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger begins with yet another of those famous Doyle teasers, namely Watson’s threat to disclose the ”whole story concerning the politician, the lighthouse, and the trained cormorant” and then gives us a dramatic yarn about a wild circus lion, which is entertaining as a story but gives Holmes no opportunity to display his skills.

Luckily, the last tale in this collection, The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place, – as far as I know, it was also the tale with the latest publication date, shows Doyle return to his old standards and – if you want – tricks, in giving us an intricate case about the irascible Sir Robert and his sister, who seem to have fallen out with each other, which leads the brother into a series of rather unusual actions. In this affair, Holmes and Watson are back on deck in their full glory.

All in all, one can say that the stories in this volume tend to be played more for effect than to give insight into Holmes’s faculties of reasoning and drawing his conclusions, which, in some cases, is quite annoying. One can also surmise that Doyle was struggling for new forms of telling these stories, albeit with limited success. I also had the impression that Watson himself changed from a man of normal mental faculties, but one still of value to his partner, to a mere admirer and idolater, as becomes obvious in the following quotation:

“He was a man of habits, narrow and concentrated habits, and I had become one of them. […] I was a whetstone for his mind. I stimulated him. He liked to think aloud in my presence. His remarks could hardly be said to be made to me – many of them would have been as appropriately addressed to his bedstead – but none the less, having formed the habit, it had become in some way helpful that I should register and interject. […] Such was my humble role in our alliance.”

One passage is extremely gushing in this context, and it occurs after Holmes shows some serious concern when Watson receives a gunshot wound during one of their explorations. Here Watson gushes forth:

”It was worth a wound – it was worth many wounds – to know the depth of loyalty and love which like behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking.”

One might definitely ask what is wrong with Watson and why he more and more begins to hide his light under a bushel: Holmes does not appear any the greater, the smaller Watson makes himself – but the detective’s fascination is derived from his ability to evaluate the clues he collects in the course of an examination. Unluckily, some of the stories in this collection give our sleuth little opportunity to do this.

[Gary Sundell · Rating 4 out of 5]

So ends my travels with Holmes and Watson as written by Doyle.

[Lorna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was truly a bittersweet moment completing the ninth book in the Sherlock Holmes and final collection in the canon, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes. This essentially was the case-book examining twelve mysteries that baffled the police and investigators over the years in stories that were published between 1921 and d1927.

These stories included: The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone; The Problem of Thor Bridge; The Adventure of the Creeping Man; The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire; The Adventure of the Three Garridebs; The Adventure of the Illustrious Client; The Adventure of the Three Gables; The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier; The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane; The Adventure of the Retired Colourman; The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger; and The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place. But I will finish the collection of works in the parting words of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle:

And so, reader, farewell to Sherlock Holmes! I thank you for your past constancy, and can but hope that some return has been made in the shape of that distraction from the worries of life and stimulating change of thought which can only be found in the fairy kingdom of romance.
———- ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE

[Cindy Rollins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed these stories, some of Holmes’s weirdest.

[Saadia B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

The last of the series is a collection of 12 short stories and probably the weakest of all. An odd mixture: a few stories that were very good and a couple not at all. Doyle knew this would be the end so he took a few risks with his storytelling, sometimes getting away in places from his standard approach while other times, he seemed to be struggling.

Nonetheless, Sherlock Holmes was a delight :)

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[Irena Pasvinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Das Notizbuch von Sherlock Holmes" enthält einige der weniger bekannten Fälle des größten Privatdetektivs aller Zeiten. Einige der Geschichten werden von seinem Freund Dr. Watson erzählt, andere von Holmes selbst. Holmes ist der Superheld meiner Kindheit, daher habe ich dieses Buch bereits ein paar Mal gelesen, aber einige der Handlungsstränge habe ich glücklicherweise vergessen.

Diesmal habe ich mir ein Hörbuch auf Deutsch angehört, um mein Deutschverständnis zu verbessern – und damit zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe geschlagen: Unterhaltung und Bildung.;)

[Mónica Cordero Thomson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Y con este libro termino la saga de Sherlock Holmes.
Creo que echaré de menos su sagacidad y sus peculiaridades,...aunque no descartó releer alguna de sus historias.
En este libro, Holmes relata algunas de sus historias (es lo que más me ha gustado, la capacidad de Conan Doyle de reflejar como escriben distintas personalidades,...).
Entretenido.

[Alaska Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

voy a echar TANTO de menos sorprenderme con cada caso 3

[Exina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone – 4 stars
My review.

The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire - 5 stars
My review.

The Three Garridebs - 3 stars
My review.

The Problem of Thor Bridge - 5 stars
My review.

[Pallavi Sareen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is Sir Doyle. Can you expect anything less than completely entertaining and genius stories?
“Life, it turns out, is infinitely more clever and adaptable than anyone had ever supposed.”
I can't even say much about this book except that I stayed up till 4 am reading because I love Sherlock Holmes.
My Favourite story has to be The Problem of Thor Bridge and The Adventure of Sussex Vampire.

[Cami L. González · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

"Y así, lector: ¡Adiós, Sherlock Holmes! Y gracias por vuestra pasada constancia. Espero que tal regreso haya sido una distracción de las preocupaciones cotidianas, y que haya estimulado el cambio de pensamiento que solo puede encontrarse en el reino mágico de las novelas"

Y así termino con todo lo que hay escrito sobre Sherlock Holmes. Sé que no es tanto, pero en algún momento tuve la sensación de que pasaría mucho tiempo leyendo sus aventuras y ahora ya he terminado el viaje. Probablemente este sea uno de mis libros recopilatorios favoritos, más que por los casos en sí, por la pluma de Doyle. Con el paso de los años fue volviéndose más delicada, más inteligente y cada vez más placentera de leer.

La aventura del vampiro de Sussex: ¡me encantó! El misterio era sencillo de resolver, pero disfruté mucho del cómo estaba escrito y de los personajes involucrados. No era un caso grave, aunque sí más dramático. Más centrado en los personajes, en sus actitudes y lo que estos piensan. La persona responsable de todo no deja de darle un toque macabro al relato. Aún sigue siendo gracioso que para Doyle latino sea lo mismo que tropical, pero al menos la mujer peruana era un buen personaje.

La aventura del fabricante de colores retirados: también me gustó mucho este macabro relato. Con el paso de los años los casos adquieren un tono macabro, más por la pluma de Doyle, por la forma en que los narra que por lo que sucede. Siempre ha habido muerte, engaños y robos. Sin embargo, ahora hay un tono más oscuro en el cómo los vamos descubriendo. Un nuevo caso en el que Holmes usa a Watson y su ingenuidad para engañar al sospechoso. Fue inteligente la resolución y también el crimen.

El problema del puente de Thor: un gran caso. Ya sea con el misterio y el crimen, las pistas fueron sencillas como para imaginar hacia donde iban los tiros. Un crimen astuto por el cómo se llevó a cabo y por la misma mente maestra detrás. Quizá no fui tan fan de los personajes involucrados y de sus futuros, pero aún así me gustó mucho.

La aventura de Shoscombe Old Place: el que menos me ha gustado hasta ahora, quizá porque se sintió menos "emocionante" que los anteriores. En los previos había un factor humano y dramático muy importante. Aquí fue más frío en algún aspecto. Eso no quita que fuera interesante las pistas que se van dando, ya que todo apunta a ese hermano lleno de deudas y que jugó toda su vida en un caballo, sin embargo, al final el giro es algo que nadie esperaba.

La aventura de los tres Garrideb: Holmes ama tanto a Watson que casi me hace llorar. El mejor momento es el que muestra el cariño que se tienen. El relato recuerda al de la liga de los pelirrojos por lo ridículo de toda la situación y el cómo alguien puede caer en ella. Quizá por la misma existencia del otro relato, podemos notar con facilidad el "truco" utilizado. Sin embargo, se nota mucho el cambio en la pluma de Doyle, por más simple que sea logra darle un toque muy divertido.

La aventura del cliente ilustre: honestamente el personaje de la chica a la que iban a salvar era de los más desagradables que he leído en estos relatos. Incluso el mismo Holmes destaca que la chica casi lo saca de sus casillas y eso no es algo que se pueda decir con facilidad. Casi quería que fallaran para que ella se tuviera que comer sus palabras, pero nuestros detectives no harían algo así nunca. Es más un caso de farándula, escándalos y personajes de mala reputación. Estuvo divertido.

La aventura del soldado de la piel descolorida: ¡escrito por Sherlock! Ay, es cierto que Watson ya tiene todo el truco para hacer de los relatos divertidos pues maneja muy bien el humor ya sea en sus anotaciones o en sus mismos comentarios. Aquí se da a entender que Watson casi que juega un rol para hacer más evidente el contraste con Holmes. El detective como narrador resulta algo seco y él mismo se da cuenta. El caso está bien, no es algo de vida o muerte solo amigos y familiares preocupados por algo que no resulta ser tan grave. Como parece ser la tónica en sus últimos relatos, al final no hay un mal mayor solo una respuesta algo rebuscada, pero de lo más normal.

La aventura de Los Tres Frontones: uno de los que menos me ha gustado. Vuelve a ser un caso de telenovela y dramas y escándalos (como la mayoría en este libro, es cierto), solo que menos interesante. Uno de esos casos en que la persona involucrada no sabe por qué es el interés de alguien más, solo que en este caso ese alguien más es una persona poderosa y astuta, dispuesta a todo para conseguir lo que quiere.

La aventura de la piedra del Mazarino: es como una obra de teatro. Tercera persona y casi puro diálogo, todo transcurre en las habitaciones de Baker Street. Aún así me gustó mucho, se ve el ingenio de Holmes y su personalidad tanto dramática como burlona. Aquí tendríamos como narrador a Doyle como narrador omnisciente, el que nos cuenta todo lo que sucede en la habitación en un periodo reducido de tiempo. De verdad resultó ser muy interesante de leer.

La aventura del hombre que se arrastraba: último caso narrado por Watson (me emociona un poco este hecho, lo admito), en el que nos resume, como siempre menospreciándose, su rol en la vida de Holmes. Un caso como Jekyll y Hyde, más ridículo y dramático que otra cosa, pues la resolución al caso, como viene siendo el estilo, es algo por completo sacado de la manga. Eso sí, el actual estilo de Doyle le permite cerrar el relato con una crítica a la ciencia y el deseo de extender la vida que no está nada de mal.

La aventura de la melena de león: mi último relato por leer, y ¡escrito por el mismo Holmes! Lo cierto es que cerré esta maratón descubriendo con rapidez la verdad, pues dado el estilo que venía notando a lo largo de estos doce relatos parecía que la solución ya no estaba en el poder de los humanos sino que en datos extraños y ajenos a ellos. Eso no quita que el relato esté maravillosamente escrito y estructurado, el cómo vamos conociendo a los distintos involucrados, la historia de amor rota y los celos. Con un giro cuando nuestro sospechoso principal llega con la misma herida que provocó la muerte de la víctima.

En las anotaciones se hacía mención a escenas homosexuales o que lo insinuaban. No sé el tipo de amor entre ellos, pero no se puede negar que había eso: amor. Un amor puro y profundo, ya sea como amigos, amantes o compañeros. Al final esas son solo etiquetas. Para mí simplemente eran Holmes y su Watson.

El punto máximo de la pluma de Doyle que se permitía ofrecer nuevos narradores como él mismo o Holmes (por primera vez en su historia). Maneja muy bien los inicios, ya son más inteligentes y no tan al grano. Al mismo tiempo, la edad le llegó a nuestros personajes, son más cuidadosos y el cariño entre ambos es innegable. Es cierto que el único punto flaco para mí está en que estos relatos no tenían grandes casos que destacar, eran en su mayoría casos curiosos con resoluciones extrañas y divertidas. Aunque, por eso mismo, destacó aun más la pluma de Doyle que hizo que estos escándalos, confusiones y casos de mala suerte resultaran maravillosos.

Me despido encantada y enamorada de Holmes y su Watson, y todos los demás personajes que los acompañaron a lo largo de sus vidas.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This last collection is an odd mixture: a few stories that are very good and a couple not at all (one was originally a play that itself seems to have been based on an earlier tale); a story in which Sherlock does nothing much but listen; two narrated by Sherlock himself (as one might imagine, he is not the storyteller Watson is, though his second tale is much better than his first, perhaps owing to relaxation in his retirement). As to Watson, age and experience become him; and his warning to one who has tried to steal his notes is priceless.

Marring my enjoyment of a few of these stories were some racist elements, though it’s true those may be considered thoughts belonging to the characters and not to Doyle himself, who seems to have been a fairly progressive thinker for his time. It was also odd to have two stories in which Englishmen have married Latin American women said to have “tropical” natures, due to their country of origin. One of them is described that way several times and by more than one character. I was born, raised and live in a subtropical climate: I guess I have a subtropical (whatever that might be) nature.

For the first time (that I am aware of), Doyle includes a short author’s preface, which was delightful. So I end my Sherlockian journey with a phrase from the preface which perhaps explains why I undertook the journey in the first place (um, that, and the Cumberbatch TV series, that is):

And so, reader, farewell to Sherlock Holmes! I thank you for your past constancy, and can but hope that some return has been made in the shape of that distraction from the worries of life and stimulating change of thought which can only be found in the fairy kingdom of romance.

[Olivia-Savannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn’t feeling hopeful when going into this final read of Holmes. But it was… more of the same really. It’s another short story collection but after reading the first one this felt a bit dry and repetitive. It was a struggle to read through, so I ended up audiobooking it. (I don’t know who but a man was reading it in a deep gravelly voice. He sounded elderly and like he would’ve been telling this story with a pipe, which was so scenic.)

The mysteries were clever, but I was sort of over them because the formula as to how they are written is so repetitive.

Also, there’s some more racism for you. I just don’t think I like the way Conan Doyle describes anyone who isn’t white, male, and fit. Otherwise, they get some pretty grotesque or unpleasant descriptions.

This review and others can originally be found on Olivia's Catastrophe: https://oliviascatastrophe.com/2020/0...

[David Sarkies · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Rather Clever Collection
7 July 2017 (Great Australian Bight)

Well, that was annoying. I had finished writing my review of the Case-book last night while I was sitting on the plane, saved it to my external harddrive, packed up my bag and then headed off to my parent's house. When I got there I suddenly discovered that my external harddrive was missing. Fortunately I had backed the harddrive up on my desktop at home, however I hope that the harddrive basically disappears as opposed to ending up in the hands of some Nigerian Prince.

What it also means is that I pretty much have to write this review again from scratch, and attempt to remember what it was that I said in the previous review. Oh well, that probably isn't as much of a problem as it could have been, though I do hope that the hard drive vanishes for good (that would be the better outcome). So, here I am, sitting once again on a plane flying at 30,000 feet over the Great Australian Bight heading to what is probably one of the, if not the, most remote cities in the entire world – Perth – namely because I've never actually been to Perth, and also because I watch to go and watch my football team lose (which is most likely what is going to happen because the away teams do tend to lose in Perth).

Anyway, enough of that because you probably want to know more about this book as opposed to my current location and my immediate plans, so I guess on with the review. Personally, I found this book somewhat more enjoyable than some of the other Holmsian collections, in particular the previous two. It felt as if Doyle had gone back to his original style as opposed to just a collection of murder mysteries – these stories seem to be more like puzzles than anything else. Sure, there were a couple of murders, but just because somebody died doesn't necessarily mean that they were killed by another human being.

The collection itself was interesting, and did seem to work more like a guessing game, though of course, as with Doyle's other works, it generally turns out that there is something that Holmes knows that he isn't letting on so it isn't necessarily possible to actually work out the solution to the puzzle. However, we do have some quite interesting stories, such as the one where an American with a rather odd name appears and claims that if he can find two other people with the same last name that he has then they would all inherit a rather expensive piece of property. This story actually reminded me a lot of the Redheaded League, which I also found to be quite clever. This is the thing that I enjoy about some of Doyle's stories – they don't necessarily involve solving a murder.

With some of the other stories, you have this puzzle regarding a professor, wearing a trench coat and covered in some nasty bruises, dying all of the sudden. You also have an adventure where Holmes is asked to basically stop this woman from marrying what appears to be a rather suspicious character, though this particular character is actually quite well connected. The problem is that she is only one of a long list of partners who all end up in a rather sticky position. Also, conving somebody not to marry somebody with whom they are smitten with is a challenge in and of itself. Once again, we don't have a murder, and we even have poor Holmes being arrested, though the charges basically don't end up sticking.

Like the previous collection, these stories aren't in chronological order, and one of them isn't even written by Watson (it is narrated by Holmes). As we remember from Volume 3, Holmes retired to tend bees, so what we are seeing now are casefiles that were closed, but for some reason or another kept hidden (or simply may not have been interesting enough to publish with the previous collections). Some of the stories occur after Holmes retires, some of them before. In fact it is even suggested that a couple are set after World War I (remember that Holmes' last case involved busting open a German spy ring).

So, I can now add the entire Sherlock Holmes stories to my have-read list, though a part of me is a bit sad that it has now come to an end and the books returned to my father. However, maybe, someday in the future, I'll crack open the case books again simply to revisit the stories, particularly stories that I quite enjoyed. Oh, and before I forget, I should mention that in one of the stories we even meet Holmes' rival – not nemesis as in the case of Doctor Moriatry, but rather another consulting detective who proves to be just as capable as Sherlock Holmes.

[Maja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poslednja antologija avantura slavnog detektiva, vredna pažnje i pohvala.
I sa ovim naslovom, ispunila sam svoju misiju da pročitam sva dela o Šerloku Holmsu 😎😎😎 Moguće je da ima još, slabije poznatih slučajeva koji se retko masovno štampaju, ali rekla bih da sam ovim do sada pokrila 99%.

[russell barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the title previous Holmes compendium being called His Last Bow and the fact his brother Mycroft killed him before that, this is the last last Holmes novel by arthur conan doyle.

Anyway, in keeping with my last Holmes and Watson review I offer the following:

"Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson went on a camping trip. After sharing a good meal and a bottle of Petrie wine, they retire to their tent for the night.

At about 3 AM, Holmes nudges Watson and asks, "Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see?"

Watson said, "I see millions of stars."

Holmes asks, "And, what does that tell you?"

Watson replies, "Astronomically, it tells me there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Theologically, it tells me that God is great and we are small and insignificant. Horologically, it tells me that it's about 3 AM. Meteorologically, it tells me that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Holmes?"

Holmes retorts, "Someone stole our tent."

Indeed

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

El último. El resucitado Sherlock y sus postreras aventuras. Con el prefacio escrito por un conmovido y agotado Arthur Conan Doyle. Con la originalidad de leer algunos relatos escritos directamente por Holmes (y no por Watson) justificando este hecho extraordinario por el "hostigamiento y la persecusión" a la que lo sometía su fiel compañero quien, ya harto de tantas críticas, declara "¡Pruebe de escribir usted mismo, Holmes!"
Como es normal que ocurra, algunas historias me han gustado más ("La aventura del soldado de la piel decolorada", "La aventura del vampiro de Sussex" y "El problema del Puente de Thor") sin duda por la originalidad de sus resoluciones.
Sin embargo, en palabras de su autor "Esto tiene que terminar, y Sherlock Holmes debe seguir el camino de todo lo que es carne en el sentido material o en el de la fantasía"

Y sí. Tiene que ser así, más ¿cómo no entristecerse?

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars. This is my least favourite of the Sherlock collections, but I still found it enjoyable. A couple of the stories are much darker, particularly the last two, so they left me with a bad taste in my mouth when I finished off the canon with them. I prefer to read His Last Bow after this one, rather than before; it’s the real ending to the Sherlock books.

I enjoyed seeing two of them through Sherlock’s eyes. Oddly enough, in this book you really see a glimpse of Holmes’ heart. There’s his pleading with Miss Violet in “The Illustrious Client”; and his wonderful advice to the Veiled Lodger; his remarks to the millionaire in “Thor Bridge”; and my favourite, his reaction when Watson is wounded in “The Three Garriebs”. I love seeing his friendship with Watson, and his humour is epicccc. The Mazarin Stone was particularly humorous. Overall, this collection shows more of Holmes, and it really makes you think a lot about life.

Individual reviews:
I. The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
5 stars. This is a somber story, but with a good message for young women then and now. I love the glimpse we get of Holmes’ heart here—the side of him rarely seen—and this, as well as his various failures throughout the story, humanize him. The other characters are none of them very pretty, but faithful Watson is as heartening as ever. The ending was unexpected and I don’t quite like it—it’s rather horrible—but the rest of the plot is fascinating, and as always, the humour is excellent.

Other Content: violence; plot contains a lustful man with many mistresses and a woman who was his mistress; language; smoking. Recommended age: 18+

II. The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier
5 stars. This is quite a unique story. When a young man comes to Holmes worried over the mysterious fate of his beloved comrade, Sherlock must work on his own, “Watson having deserted him for a wife.” There aren’t many stories written from Holmes’ POV, and somehow he manages to point out his methods and still pop a surprising ending. The characters are interesting. Mrs. Emsworth was sweet and the Colonel was rather hard to peg. Mr. Dodd was a splendid friend, and Godfrey himself, while not particularly striking, at least had striking adventures. The plot is too short to comment greatly upon, but it’s a great example of how Sherlock works—I love how the deductions are really plain common sense.

Content: hope to G**, wish to G**, d*mned x2, what the de**l, in Hea**n’s name.

III. The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone
5 stars. This is such a fun story! It’s rather different from the others, being the only Sherlock story to be written from an omniscient narrator POV. It seems set after Watson’s second marriage, at a period when Holmes was somewhat lonely, and includes a page, Billy, who seems a sweet and helpful boy—I wish we’d see him again! It’s nice to see Holmes worried about him. ;) The two other characters are also very interesting—the panther-like Count Sylvius and the stupid, bullheaded Sam. I would have liked to see the Count facing off against Holmes again. The plot was quite enjoyable, much more comedic than anything—the characters provoke much satirical humour from Holmes. I was sorry Watson didn’t show more, but really, this is one of mt favourite stories and it shows Holmes off so well. ;)

Content: D*mned (x2); what the d*vil; d*mn you; good Lo*d; the deuce (x2).

IV. The Adventure of the Three Gables
4 stars. This story reminds me strongly of A Scandal in Bohemia. There are some very remarkable women in the Sherlock chronicles… The story was less enjoyable for me, because of the nature of the crime (really, take a lover, refuse to marry him, and have your men beat him up?). I despised the villain, and I was annoyed that Justice wasn’t done, yet I understood Holmes’ reasons for “compounding a felony as usual.” I was also bothered by his racist attitude towards Steve, especially since it was uncharacteristic of him, as made plain by The Yellow Face. However, I did enjoy the humour... Holmes talking to Susan was something else. And Mrs. Maberley was a sweet old thing. Overall, I enjoyed the story, it’s just not one of my favourite Sherlock stories.

Content: D*mn; so help me the L**d (x2); I’ll see you in hell first; by He**en; G*d knows.

V. The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire
5 stars. Such a dramatic tale, and so unique! A quintessential Englishman marries a beautiful Peruvian woman, as sweet and devoted a wife as she could be. However, their differing cultures and beliefs has begun to alienate him a little, when the woman suddenly exhibits vampire-like tendencies towards their baby and cruel behaviour towards her stepson. Horrified and bewildered, the man reaches out to Sherlock Holmes as a last hope… Needless to say, B. does not shine as a father and husband, but at least his family loved him. Poor Mrs. F. was fascinating and wonderful; Mrs. M. was a dour but trustworthy woman; D. was a sweet and excellent maid; and the villain was horrid—I was disappointed that no stronger steps were taken against them. Holmes did excellently in the story and it brought out some of the best parts of his character. The story ends on a hopeful note, and with a “happily ever after” insinuation that I appreciated. Overall, it’s quite a unique, fascinating story with heartwarming portions and, as such, I love it.

Content: For G*d’s sake (x2); for He**en’s sake; good G*d.

VI. The Adventure of the Three Garridebs
5 stars. Oh, I love this story! To start off, it’s quite baffling and twisty, quite fascinating. Both Garridebs were interesting folk in their own ways—the smooth, anglicized American and the eccentric old scientist, so utterly different. This is one of those stories where Holmes’ brainwork is quite stupendous and yet very simple, once he explains it. It also reveals his real character in a beautiful way. His friendship with Watson shows up so well. In short, this is one of my favourite of the Homes stories. <3

Content: By the Lord (x2).

VII. The Problem of Thor Bridge
5 stars. This is such a fascinating story! It’s one of the best criminal cases Holmes handles. The cast was epic. An American millionaire of cold steel and resolve, afire with love. His unloved, passionate South American wife, full of wild hate. A beautiful, upright young English governess who finds her (married) employer obsessed with her. One of them is a killer. I appreciated how Holmes handled Gibson and brought him down pegs; and I loved how passionate he was for friendless Miss Dunbar. And how he went about the case, and the way he proved his theory, were masterful. Definitely a tale not to be missed!

Content: D*mned; what the de**l. A married man falls in love with his children’s governess and tries to make her his mistress. She refuses, and almost leaves his house, but chooses to remain to influence him for good (a foolish decision but one she made in honesty and purity of motivation).

VIII. The Adventure of the Creeping Man
4 stars. This is a slightly disturbing tale, involving an older professor madly in love with a beautiful and much younger girl, and ‘an obscure scientist who was striving ... for the secret of rejuvenescence and the elixir of life’ and created a ‘wondrous strength-giving serum’ made in some way from langurs, ‘the great black-faced monkey of the Himalayan slopes, biggest and most human of climbing monkeys.’ While Prof. Presbury was not a likeable character by any means, Miss P. & Mr. Bennett were a nice young couple. The sci-fi element wasn’t my fav, but I did like Holmes’ monologue on it and I enjoyed him & Watson as usual. Also, there is one of my favourite bits of Sherlock’s humorous mockery of Watson within these pages:

Content: For G*d’s sake.

IX. The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane
5 stars. This is such a dramatic story that really fires the imagination, and I love it. Being one of the rare stories narrated by Holmes, after his retirement, it’s quite unique, and shows more of the detective than is revealed in his earlier self-narrated The Blanched Soldier. The plot of this story is gripping and extremely twisty, leaving me baffled until the very end. The characters are really interesting—a dour mathematics professor with a passionate temper; a weak-hearted but athletic science professor, reported to be both friends and not friends with said the mathematics professor; a beautiful love interest whose buff father and brothers are not in the slightest supportive of her love interest; a badly puzzled school principal; and a mysterious, ‘savage, inhuman’ scourging. There is nothing more to be said that doesn’t spoil the story, but rest assured it is one of the best Sherlock tales!

Content: For G*d’s sake; my G*d; or He**en’s sake.

X. The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger
5 stars. Wow. This story... It’s so sad and somber. This tale shows plainly the hardships of life. A wicked, beastly sot of a man. A passionate, miserable, beautiful wife who takes a handsome, selfish coward for her lover. A murder… And then there is nothing left but the scars and haunting memories of sin. Though this story has almost nothing to do with Holmes’ powers, it shows his character splendidly. His words to the woman are amazing... and the ending is wonderful. I recommend it for ages 18+, but it is nevertheless a good addition to the Sherlock canon.

Content: Poor devil (x2); deucedly; for G*d’s sake; I wish to G*d; Lo*d bless you (as an exclamation).

XI. The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place
5 stars. This isn’t my favourite of the Sherlock stories, and I always confuse it with The Retired Colourman ... but it involves a man up (and over) the ears in debt, a loving sister who suddenly acts mysterious, and a dog given away… I love the Sherlock & Watson element (both being fantastic) and the humour. I used to find it disturbing, but now I just find it fascinating and thought-provoking. I think the villain definitely didn’t get what he deserved…

Content: Language; disrespect to the dead. Violence/Disturbance Level: 3/5 (medium)

XII. The Adventure of the Retired Colourman
4 stars. Well, this is an interesting story. I just wish the evildoer had met Justice… It’s hard to share the plot without spoilers, but it involves murder, a wizened old man, a young wife, a boyish doctor, and a mysterious stranger. A. was terrible, but B. was fascinating and I so do wish he too shown up in more of the stories!! This is another of the stories where Watson investigates and Holmes tears his work to shreds, and then Watson plays decoy. Both Holmes & Watson were as splendid as ever, of course, and what I really loved was all the doses of Sherlock’s satirical humour…

Content: D*mned; de**l; a wife may have been unfaithful.

A Favourite Quote: “‘Your life is not your own,’ he said. ‘Keep your hands off it.’
“‘What use is it to anyone?’
“‘How can you tell? The example of patient suffering is in itself the most precious of all lessons to an impatient world.’”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “Inside it was all panelling and tapestry and half-effaced old pictures, a house of shadows and mystery.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “The prize-fighter ... stood ... looking about him with a puzzled expression. Holmes’s debonair manner was a new experience, and though he vaguely felt that it was hostile, he did not know how to counter it. He turned to his more astute comrade for help. ‘What’s the game now, Count? What’s this fellow want? What’s up?’
“[I]t was Holmes who answered. ‘If I may put it in a nutshell, Mr. Merton, I should say it was all up.’
“The boxer still addressed his remarks to his associate. ‘Is this cove trying to be funny, or what? I’m not in the funny mood myself.’
“‘No, I expect not,’ said Holmes. ‘I think I can promise you that you will feel even less humorous as the evening advances.’”

[Andrew B · Rating 4 out of 5]

** 4.1 Stars out of 5 Stars **

Classic mystery read. Sherlock Holmes does not disappoint.

If you are a short story fan this book is for you.

As I have stated previously, I am a huge fan of Arthur Conan Doyle.

Basically, when I come across a free version on my Kindle I pick up and add it to my night reading list before bed.